Everything's better in Yellow

I am sorry it has been so long since I last posted anything.  True confessions... I have neglected my garden somewhat as well; it's a mess.  Why?  Well, I have been a bit preoccupied by the start of a new job.  It's exciting, and of course, a little bit nerve-wracking at the same time to learn and adjust to a new system on the fly.

I started out with a post about feelings and all about my new job, but I have been advised by my personal lawyer against talking excessively about work haha.

I will say this though, the day before my new job was to start, I was at Whole Foods and saw these bright and happy sunflowers and I bought them.

That same day, Evan came home after grocery shopping (at Whole Foods, incidentally...) and he had bought me these orchids, also in yellow, bright and happy.  They also conveniently replace my other orchid which sadly, is very nearly dead, with just one leaf left.  

Interesting side-fact, Evan bought me a beautiful orchid the day before Match Day (where you find out which residency you will attend) to say that he would be happy for me and support me wherever I ended up.  Fortunately, I matched in LA and we did not have to embark on a long-distance relationship.  But that was our first Love Plant, as I called it.  I get very upset when our Love Plants die.  Fortunately, I have been practicing taking care of orchids...

What is it about yellow that makes us associate the color with happiness and optimism?  I wonder how much is cultural versus inherent?  Here is an infographic to ponder. (It does not have the answers, alas. here is the source)

Fascinating, isn't it?

The flowers made me feel better.  And the first day at the job went well.  I had a dream last night where one of my colleagues at the hospital wanted to pray for a patient that wasn't doing so well, and I thought it was really weird.  But in real life, that's exactly what I did (I prayed)...  and I was blessed with a couple slow shifts as well as some very computer savvy staff which all helped with learning the computer system.  God is good. 

I have a couple more shifts this weekend, and I have been somewhat preoccupied as a result still.  Evan seems to think that I have moved on from gardening, ever the doubter when it comes to my hobbies.  Admittedly, I have rapidly cycled through hobbies in the past.  But there's something about flowers that always seem so simple, always make me happy, always beautiful whether you're there to see it or not...  why would I ever stop gardening?

Finally, I would like to make a shout out to my dear friend Julian for reading my blog and even admitting to liking it.  Thanks Julian, you're great! 

Here's a song that seems to go with yellow sunflowers and orchids.  I hope that you all have good weekends full of bright sunshine and happiness!  

Quick tips for cut flowers

Don't you hate it when you buy flowers and they seem to die instantly?  Here are a couple tips to help with that.

Quick tip of the day #1 -- Trimming the stems:

First off, don't just stick your bouquet in the water.  You need to cut the stems at a 45 degree angle.  A Dutch family trick is to also make an additional cut 1-2cm directly up the length of the stem from the bottom.  All of this exposes more of the water-absorbing portion of the stem to the water.  You also need to trim off any leafy debris and extra stems below where the water line will be.  Otherwise, they will decay and shorten your flowers' life.

Spray roses

Quick tip of the day #2 -- Conditioning the flowers:
To keep your flowers standing up straight, when you buy them put them in water for 4 hours after trimming the stems but before taking off the wrapping so that they are propped up straight in the vase.  After 4 hours, remove the wrapping, and your flowers will be in good shape!  You will notice the difference with flowers with softer stems such as tulips which have a tendency to droop at the stem when they wilt.

Tulips!

Quick tip of the day #3 -- Additives:

I've heard (and tried) everything from adding Sprite, pennies, and straight sugar to the water in order to extend the life of my bouquets.  None of those worked and I have personally had better experience with just plain water.  But some sources suggest additives both to feed the plant and also kill any bacteria.  That's why sometimes flowers come with little flower food/preservative packets attached.  If there is no handy packet, you can try this little recipe, provided by the UCDavis Division Agriculture and Natural Resources (scale up or down as needed):

Flower food/preservative:

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon bleach

in 1 quart of water

Make sure to replenish the water regularly and if you notice any gross moldy-type consistency, then completely replace the water, trimming the stems and cleaning the vase again before putting the flowers back in the vase

The flowers pictured are both bouquets from the party we had this weekend, now on day 3 of being in a vase.  As you can see, we are kind of obsessed with painted ceramic pitchers at the moment, both procured during our trip to Italy... pitchers make great vases!  (That is a decorating tip from Evan, my interior decorator/husband)